Rolling missile, remote control system



March 12, 1968 J, F. MENKE v 3,372,889

ROLLING MISSILE, REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM Filed Nov. 23. 1966 :grfiRMA Q/g T A SM! E 5 9 2/ 3 I 5 a 7 .22 E i ls I LENS MODULAR j msc I ROTARY DRIVE DRIVE ROLLING SPEED TIME United States Patent 3,372,889 ROLLING MISSILE, REMOTE CONTROL SYSTEM Joseph F. Menke, Heidelberg, Germany, assignor to Eltro G.m.b.H. & Co., Heidelberg, Germany Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 381,750, July 10, 1964. This application Nov. 23, 1966, Ser. No. 596,615

2 Claims. (Cl. 2443.14)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A rolling missile is tracked by goniometer which develops guidance signals which are transmitted back to the missile after a suitable delay to account for the rolling of the missile. The delay is provided by temporarily storing the signal developed by the goniometer.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 381,750 filed July 10, 1964, now abandoned.

The present invention relates to a method for the time control of the transmission of information to an object spatially remote from the site where the information is produced, as well as to apparatus for carrying out said method. The invention relates specifically to the timeadjusted transmission of data to a missile which uses the data for correcting its trajectory.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide for transmitting information to a missile or similar device equipped with appropriate receiving members at very specific times which are defined, for example, by the specific position of the missile in space. The transmission of such information can be effected, for example, by means of electromagnetic waves. The information to be transmitted consists of guidance commands issued from the firing site and adapted for being translated automatically in the missile for the actuating of guidance control elements in the missile.

Stated in another way, it is 'an object of the invention to control the timing of the transmission of guidance commands to a missile so that the commands are con tinuously subjected to a delay which is a function of the rotary movement of the missile.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 schematically shows apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 2 is a chart used in explaining the invention.

In a missile which executes rolling motions imparted thereto at the time of firing and includes phase controls, control should be effected only at specific times to take into account the rolling of the missile.

In order to properly time the transmission of control data, the invention provides that the data be stored by magnetic or electronic means and this data is then requested by the missile and transmitted at those specific times at which the missile requires said information. Specifically, the missile itself determines the times at which the information has to be called for and transmitted and these times are modified in accordance with the roll of the missile. Such modification is necessary to enable flight correction signals to achieve their desired objectives which would otherwise be lost due to improper orientation of the missile in space at the time of effecting flight correction.

Therefore, according to a special application of the method according to the invention, the transmission of ice measured data to a missile is controlled in respect of time, said data being used by the missile for producing control or flight correction signals.

In a known system to which the invention will be applied, the missile to be guided to a target may comprise fixed radiation transmitters, for example, giving off infra-red radiation, so that an observation station will be able to determine, with the aid of an infra-red goniometer, the distance difference of the traveling missile with respect to a nominal or reference axis, i.e., the axis from launching site to target, in respect of polar 6oordinates. The missile is reproduced as an image point in the image field of the infra-red goniometer, and the coordinates of the image point are determined by frequency modulation of the image point radiation with the center of the image corresponding to the target.

The distance difference coordinates thus determined are expressed as flight path corrective signals to be transmitted to the missile and to be used by the missile for producing control or flight correction signals for the purpose of guiding the missile in the direction of the reference axis or target.

If the missile has a rolling motion with a regular or irregular number of revolutions per unit of time, and if it comprises phase controls, steps must be taken so that the missile receives the aforesaid information and generates the corresponding control signals at only specific times.

According to the invention this is accomplished in that the measured data is stored, for example, in a magnetic memory and is called for and transmitted to the missile at exactly those times at which the control signals act on the control members of the missile in the required manner.

Since the missile rotates, the phase controls of the missile have the right control position only at specific times, succeeding each other 'at either regular or nonconstant intervals, and the transmission of the data and delivery of the control signals must take place at these times only.

Consequently, the interrogating or reproducing head runs in relation to the recording medium with 'a difference in speed equal to the rolling speed of the missile and calls for the data only at the times defined above. It is also provided in accordance with one preferred embodiment that the recording medium of the magnetic memory runs in relation to the recording head with a speed of rotation of the modulation disc of the infra-red goniometer.

The data corresponding to the distance difference coordinates of the missile from the reference axis, as measured in the image field with the aid of an infra-red goniometer, is recorded by a fixed recording head on the recording medium of a magnetic memory, which as aforesaid travels at the speed of rotation of the modulation disc of the infra-red goniometer.

The stored data is called for as aforesaid by an interrogating or reproducing head running at a relative speed equal in amount and direction to that of the rolling motion of the missile and is transmitted to said missile.

More particularly, in FIG. 1, a missile 2 transmits radiation 4 by means of an infra-red radiator 3 to a receiving station which includes a goniometer 5. The goniometer includes a lens system 6, a rotating modulating disc 7 having alternating permeable and impermeable sectors. The radiation which is chopped and frequency modulated by the disc 7, is converted by the infra-red sensing cell 8 to an FM signal which is amplified by amplifier 9. The frequency modulation is proportional to the displacement of the missile 2 from a reference or theoretical axis. The PM signal is recorded by fixed recording head 10 on a rotating hollow drum or record means. A rotary drive 12 drives disc 7 and drum 11 in syn-chronism.

A rotary drive 13 drives an arm 14 supporting a mobile reading or reproducing head 15. The speed of drive 13 is related to "the rolling motion rate of missile 2. As the rolling rate is known for the particular missile (see FIG. 2), the drive 13 will have a built-in programmed speed corresponding to such rolling rate.

Head 15 is connected via commutator means 16 to information transmitter 18 which will pass the information to antenna 19. Antenna 19 transmits the information to the receiving antenna 21 of missile '2.

FIG. 2 referred to above illustrates graphically the rolling sped z of :the missile in response to the time t.

" The rolling speed is established at the time the missile is fired. The speed of rotation of the interrogating head, i.e. reproducing 'head 15, must correspond to the curve of FIG. 2 and a conventional programming means can be used for this purpose.

The pulse control of the missile operates in such a manner that, at the required times control signals in proper phase relation with constant amplitude, are produced. In other words, with each rotation of the missile, a control signal is emitted in proper phase relation so that the deviation of the missile from the reference axis gradually becomes smaller and the desired correction of the trajecory is obtained after the nth rotation.

The method according to the invention specifically solves unequivocally the problem of feeding data for the delivery of a control signal to a missile with rolling motion and with-phase controls at specific moments only. The moments are determined by the required operational readiness of the control members of the missile.

What is claimed is:

1. A missile system comprising a missile adapted for traveling with a rolling motion towards a target, said missile being further adapted to emit infra-red radiation, a goniometer including lens means to receive s'aid radiation and radiation sensitive means, and modulating disc means rotating between said lens means and radiation sensitive means to generate a signal modulated in accordance with the distance of the missile from a predetermined axis, receiving means on said missile for receiving flight path corrective signals, transmitter means to transmit said flight path corrective signals, and control means between said radiation responsive means and said transmission means to delay the transmission of said corrective signals to account for the rolling motion of said missile, said control means including magnetic record means, means to drive said record means in synchronism with said disc means, a fixed recording means coupled to said radiation senistive means and recording modulated signals on said record means, .a mobile reading means to reproduce signals from said record means, and drive means to drive said mobile reading means along said record means in proportion to the speed of the rolling motion of the missile.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the record means is a rotatable hollow magnetic drum and said recording and reading means are respectively on the outside and inside of said drum.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,362,827 11/ 1944 Joachim 114-21 2,710,962 6/1955 Fritze 2443.14 X 2,852,208 9/1958 Schlesman 244-311 2,931,912 4/ 1960 Macleish. I

2,942,118 6/1960 Gedance.

2,944,763 7/1960 Grandgent et al. 244-3.14 3,098,933 7/ 1963 .Barasch 2443. 14 X RODNEY D. BENNETT, Primary Examiner.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Examiner.

M. F. HUBLER, Assistant Examiner. 

